REVIEW: Mark Thomas at Newcastle Live Theatre

Mark Thomas - Check-Up - Our NHS @ 70

Newcastle Live Theatre

Until Thursday 7th March 2019

Then on tour

Mark Thomas is a comedian with a mission. Not satisfied with making audiences laugh, he is determined to celebrate one of our national institutions. His passion is palpable, his message is clear. In a one man show, he sings the praises of the organisation responsible for keeping us alive, and free from fear, the NHS.

The second paragraph of a review like this is usually a disclaimer, isn’t it? Yes, we have seen Mark a number of times and we loved his Channel 4 programmes back in the day. No, we don’t buy Coca Cola and yes, the sludge at the bottom of our bin now has a name. Politically, Mark’s core values align with our own. When Mark pointed out that clapping after one of his remarks about a member of ‘The Independent Group’ shows there were socialists in the room - we were amongst the ones clapping. I don’t know how you’d view this show if you are a passionate right winger.  But that’s not the point. This is my writing. These are my thoughts. Let’s move on…

Mark is a raconteur. A man who can speak quickly and passionately about a range of topics. Each show he does is unique and clearly comes from the heart. This is not a man who believes in recycling material.

The show starts with the original public information film that was shown in cinemas to spread the word about the launch of the National Health Service in 1948.  Mark’s opening comments are that he has relatives that remember the launch, others that worked in the NHS and indeed, like many in the room, he has the NHS to thank for his own safe birth. Mrs Brown’s Boys may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but a regular occurrence on the programme is the scramble to find the money to pay for a doctor. In the UK we don’t have that issue as the NHS is universal, paid for through taxation so is free at the point of use and covers us for every medical eventuality. It continues to be something to be proud of.

In writing the show, Mark has interviewed a number of leading people in the NHS and some politicians who have been in charge of the nation’s health. He shadowed several NHS staff in a variety of roles from running an A&E resus department, working in a renal facility, nursing in a dementia unit through to the key role of a local GP. He also discusses with a GP what could possibly go wrong with his health in his remaining years.

The show ties up his research with numerous facts. Mark takes on the role of many of the doctors and health professionals, usually when sat down. The use of a projections and lighting mean it is obvious when he is quoting a particular individual. It is rare that the back projection turns into actual video footage, but that gives such footage much more impact. A great example of this is when the former Labour health minister reveals his biggest regret.

Now don’t get me wrong. Not everyone in the audience agreed with everything said, but everyone had food for thought. How much are we willing to pay for our health service? Can we afford it? Where is the money going? What is a sense of duty? The biggest surprise was that Hunt and May didn’t get a bigger mention.

Mark’s natural ability to tell a great story and hold an audience’s attention coupled with the relevance of the topic to every member of the audience make Check-Up - Our NHS @ 70 a must-see show.

Review: Stephen Oliver

Tickets:

The dates at Newcastle's Live Theatre have sold out.

Mark Thomas also brings the show to the ARC in Stockton on Tuesday 12^th March: http://arconline.co.uk/whats-on/special-events-comedy/mark-thomas-check-up-our-nhs-at-70.

Other tour dates: https://markthomasinfo.co.uk/tour-dates/ 

Preview: Saturday Night Fever at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Bill Kenwright presents

Saturday Night Fever

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Tuesday 5^th – Saturday 9^th March 2019

Based on the Paramount/RSO film and the story by Nick Cohn.

Adapted for the stage by Robert Stigwood in collaboration with Bill Oakes

In the past stage plays have always been great inspiration for films. It would seem in recent years a shift has occurred and everyone is making stage adaptations of hit movies, especially musicals. Ghost, Dirty Dancing, Footloose and The Wedding Singer have all proved hugely successful as audiences head to see shows they’ll recognise from their film counterparts. This week’s offering is the stage adaptation of the 1977 disco classic drama, Saturday Night Fever.

Saturday Night Fever follows the life of Tony Manero, who escapes harsh working class realities whilst on a reckless, yet thrilling road to dancing success. The narrative is simple and easy to follow but it’s not the story that is the star of the show here anyway. This is a show about DISCO! The music, the dance and the spectacle. The film’s soundtrack remains one of the best selling of all time, featuring the Bee Gees' hits Stayin’ Alive, How Deep Is Your Love, Night Fever, and Tragedy. In this show the songs are superbly performed from a raised stage by Edward Handoll, Alastair Hill and Matt Faull playing the Bee Gees. It’s a brilliant device in this show and I often found myself watching these guys perform as the Bee Gees as much as I was watching the show!

Richard Winsor (Casualty) takes on the lead role here, played by John Trovolta in the movie version. Winsor can really move. He has the male chauvinist attitude of the 70’s whilst retaining a vulnerability and charm that allows the audience to fall in love with him and they really do. Winsor has a stellar cast around him that give a superb ensemble performance. The real stand out for me though has to be Faizal Jaye who played DJ Monty. His energy and dancing were on another level and every time he was on stage I was transfixed.

The real star of this show is the Choreography.  Bill Dreamer has filled the stage with a non-stop, fast-paced disco explosion of dance. It’s sexy, it’s energetic and it’s unashamedly disco, an absolute joy to watch.

Saturday Night Fever is a wildly entertaining, slick and sexy show that will give you the night fever and by the end of the show, you should be dancing!

The show does contain some strong language and some outdated 70’s sexism which is key to the story but means the show may not be suitable for younger audiences.

Review: Stephen Sullivan

Photo: Pamela Raith Photography

Tickets:

Saturday Night Fever is at Newcastle Theatre Royal between Tuesday 5 and Saturday 9 March 2019 playing evenings at 7.30pm (Fri 8.30pm) and matinees Thu 2pm, Fri 5pm, and Sat 2.30pm.

Tickets from £15.50 can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 (Calls cost 7ppm plus your phone company’s access charge) or book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk.

Preview: Arcadia at Newcastle People’s Theatre

 “The future is disorder”

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard

Newcastle People’s Theatre

Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 March 2019

In Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia past and present are comically blurred in an English country house as the life of the Croom family in 1809 is juxtaposed with two present-day researchers working in the library of Sidley Park.

The pert observations of Thomasina, a teenage Regency maths prodigy, are pitched against the subdued passion of the 21st-century academics. Meanwhile, death lurks outside amidst the shrubberies beyond the French window.

Arcadia is a play of discovery that explores the nature of truth and time. The modern-day characters are bent on discovering what happened in the same place in the nineteenth century, while the nineteenth century characters work to discover the truth about what is going on around them.

The difference between the Classical and the Romantic temperament is explored, along with the disruptive influence of sex on our orbits in life - a force which neither Newton nor Einstein could explain.

A smash hit since its debut at the National Theatre in 1993, Arcadia is a funny and moving drama for the head and the heart, and is frequently cited as one of the great plays of the 20th century.

Arcadia is the first main stage production of the theatre’s Spring/Summer Season. Other highlights include Oscar Wilde’s comedy The Importance Of Being Earnest, Frankenstein and an adaptation of Catherine Cookson’s local classic The Gambling Man.

Photos: Paula Smart

Tickets:      £14 (Concessions £11.50)
Box Office: 0191 265 5020 - www.peoplestheatre.co.uk

'The Other City' Podcast

New podcast offers audiences a chance to see the city through new eyes

'The Other City' Podcast

Newcastle-based theatre company Cap-a-Pie has created a new podcast offering audiences a chance to see the city through new eyes. Launching on 2 April, The Other City is a free piece of theatre audiences can experience whenever and wherever they like.

Unlike other site-specific audio shows that follow a set trail or route, The Other City will be available for people to listen to at any time and in any city. It invites audiences to take a self-led journey through their city whilst being guided to look at it in new ways by Joao - a fictional resident of Rio de Janeiro.

Podcasts are now more popular than ever; a 2018 Ofcom report shows UK audiences have doubled in the last five years with nearly 6m adults now tuning in each week, but so far very few theatre companies have created podcasts and most have been factual - behind the scenes interviews about the industry.

Cap-a-Pie Artistic Director Brad McCormick explains, “The aim of this project was for people to think about their own city and how the world outside influences and shapes it. We decided that if we wanted people to think about that, it would be best for them to experience the show while being outside, walking around the city, so we created a free podcast which people can listen to anywhere, at any time.

“The Other City offers audiences a different way of thinking about our world and our place in it. At a time of huge national uncertainty (we launch the podcast just days after Britain is due to leave the EU) we hope it will help people to think about what connections we have to the rest of the world - what is similar and what is different.”

Cap-a-Pie has created The Other City with Dr Matt Davies from Newcastle University’s School of Geography, Politics & Sociology. Matt looks at how the global and the local come together in urban environments, and has spent time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil researching the effects that world events like the World Cup and the Olympics have on local communities.

The Other City will be available to download as a free podcast from 2 April, and two free meet the team events are taking place at Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne at 2pm on Saturday 6 April and Theatre Delicatessen in Sheffield at 2pm on Saturday 13 April. 

Sign up to be the first to experience The Other City at www.theothercity.co.uk 

On The Web:

@capapiecreative

 #TheOtherCity

Photos: www.phyllischristopher.com

Preview: Gin Tasting at Sunderland Empire

CHIN! CHIN!

GIN IS THE WORD AT SUNDERLAND EMPIRE

Gin Tasting with Poetic License Distillery

Sunderland Empire

Get set for a gin thing this spring as Sunderland Empire raise the curtain on their very first gin event with Poetic License Distillery. A limited number of tickets have gone on sale for two events on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 April 2019, priced at £29.50 per person.

Tickets are now on sale and cost £29.50 per person, available from the Sunderland Empire Box Office and online from http://bit.ly/GinTasteSund #Ad

Guests will enjoy an unforgettable gin experience in the opulent surroundings of the Dress Circle Bar area of the Grade 2 listed Sunderland Empire theatre. The evening will start with a one hour insight and tasting session taking gin enthusiasts on the ultimate Gin Journey with the team of expert distillers from local independent small batch distillery, Poetic License.

Guests will then have the opportunity to sample the full Poetic License range including four full strength gins and four liqueurs, alongside Fever Tree tonics. The price also includes a miniature food platter from the theatres in-house Garden Place Bistro.

Poetic License Distillery who are shortlisted for the Gin Magazine Awards 2019, have supplied their popular flavoured gins to the Sunderland Empire for the last year. The big, bold North East gin has been enjoyed by thousands of theatre goers and continues to be a popular bar staple.

The local Poetic License Distillery site is uniquely designed around Gracie, their 500-litre copper pot still, which produces on a small batch, artisan scale.

Adam Rowbotham, Theatre Manager at Sunderland Empire said: “We are delighted to host our first gin event in partnership with Poetic License Distillery. The gin revolution continues to grow and I’m sure tickets will be snapped up fast! The event is also a perfect fit to utilise our stunning bar and bistro areas which are available for hire.”

A range of full sized tipples will also be available to purchase on the evening including Northern Dry Gin, Fireside Spiced Gin and Picnic Gin. The Dress Circle bar will also be open throughout the evening to purchase additional refreshments. Doors will open at 6.30pm, for a 7pm start. Here’s to the wild spirits - don’t miss the chance to experience the unforgettable flavours!

Tickets are now on sale and cost £29.50 per person, available from the Sunderland Empire Box Office and online from http://bit.ly/GinTasteSund #Ad

Preview: Durham & Sunderland One Act Festival at Arts Centre Washington

Durham & Sunderland One Act Festival

Arts Centre Washington

Wednesday 6^th to Saturday 9^th March 2019

The 2^nd Durham & Sunderland One Act Theatre Festival will be held over four days from 6^th to 9^th March at Arts Centre Washington. The inaugural festival took place at the arts centre in March last year, this year seven amateur theatre groups from around the area have entered plays.

The festival is one of 25 events being held across the country in the All England Theatre Festival, in which amateur drama groups present One Act plays. These are adjudicated, with awards presented on the final day for the best performances, and the best overall group going forward to a Northern Region semi-final. The adjudicator this year will be Sue Doherty, from Liverpool.

The 2018 festival was such a success that this year the Semi-Final will also be staged at Arts Centre Washington, and this will be held on 4^th and 5^th May. Between 6 and 8 winning groups from around the North of England (and possibly the Isle of Man) will assemble and perform at Washington. The group judged best overall will then go forward to the All England Final, to be held this year at Maidenhead.

Groups taking part in this years event are Washington Theatre Group, Find the River Productions, Matchbox Theatre, Royalty Theatre, Consett Phoenix Youth, Holmside Productions and the University of Sunderland’s Drama Department.

The Durham & Sunderland One Act Festival has already become noted as a showcase for New Writing and this year it will include new plays by Helen Bowie, Tom Casling, Angela Marshall and Lee Stewart. These will compete for the Allan Monkhouse New Writing Award, named after the Barnard Castle born playwright.

The Festival is sponsored and organised by Alan Godfrey, of Alan Godfrey Maps, who have published more than 3,000 historical maps for towns throughout the British Isles and continue to publish more than 80 new titles a year from their office at Leadgate, near Consett. The maps are a major source for local and family historians, and their value nationally was recognised when Alan was awarded an MBE in 2010.   Alan Godfrey was an actor in the 1970s before concentrating on his map business and continues to act and direct on an amateur basis. He will be appearing in one of the plays himself, Chekhov’s ‘The Anniversary’, to be performed on the Friday.

Tickets:
The Durham and Sunderland One Act Festival takes place  from 6th to 9th March at Arts Centre Washington.  Tickets cost £6 per night, or £18 for the four nights, and are available from www.artscentrewashington.co.uk or by calling the box office on 0191 561 3455.

REVIEW: The Mousetrap at Sunderland Empire

The Mousetrap

Sunderland Empire

Thursday 28^th February – Saturday 2^nd March 2019

Tickets for The Mousetrap are available in person at the Box Office on High Street or online from ATG Tickets http://bit.ly/MousetrapSund* #Ad

Agatha Christie’s classic record breaking whodunnit arrives in Sunderland this week. Complete with its period charm, the show have been packing the audiences in for its West-end run of over 27500 performances over the last 67 years. Even the Queen has seen it and been asked not to give away the secret.

Set in the early 50s when rationing was still around the story centres around Mollie Ralston (Harriett Hare) who has inherited a large property which is about an hours drive from London. She decides to open the property as the “Monkswell Manor Guest House” with the support of her husband Giles (Nick Biadon). The Mousetrap starts with heavy snows outside and the couple are expecting their first guests. As they make their final preparations the big news story on the radio is the murder of a woman in  Paddington. The police issue a fairly generic description of the man that they need to question.

As they arrive, the guests make a quick first impression on the audience. Christopher Wren (Lewis Chandler) is a lively young architect who likes a joke. His behaviour is in stark contrast to the irascible Mrs Boyle (Gwyneth Strong, who is best known for playing Only Fools And Horses regular Cassandra) who does not suffer fools and is clearly irritated by the inexperience of her hosts. It is a good job Trip Advisor wasn’t around at the time. Mrs Boyle arrived in the same taxi as the Major Metcalf (resident director John Griffiths) who takes the situation in his stride.

Seemingly out of place in the 1950s scene is Miss Casewell (Saskia Vaigncourt-Strallen) who is dressed initially in fairly a masculine outfit - which, like the other male guests, also matches the police description  of the person they want to question - and she wishes to keep herself to herself. Unexpectedly the door bell rings again and Mr Paravicini (David Alcock) asks if a room is available as his car has got stuck in the snow. Whilst little is known about him, no more is known about any of the guests who pre-booked their rooms either.

So, the classic Agatha Christie scenario is set up. A group of strangers stuck in a snow bound hotel for the evening with a murderer on the loose. Thank goodness the phone rings and the police are sending Sergeant Trotter (Geoff Arnold) around on his skis to ensure everyone is safe. The ensemble cast do a fine job in portraying a fairly eccentric bunch of people who have little in common whilst they wait for the snow to clear.

The set is a single central room at the front of the Manor House. Numerous doors and exits enable the cast to flow in and out of the action. Unlike some whodunits, director Gareth Armstrong ensures that there is a good flow in the narrative. But just like an episode of Scooby Doo, part of the challenge for the audience at the interval is trying to work out if the killer is in the house and who it is.

The lighting design from Peter Vaughan Clarke enables the crunch moments to be picked out – or hidden – as appropriate. The sound design by Richard Carter includes some well timed radio broadcasts. A nice touch was the snow falling outside making it feel cold inside the Empire Theatre.

Regular readers will know I like the murder mystery format and I am a fan of Agatha’s work. The Mousetrap is successful as it is a fine example of the whodunit. It may feel quaint, a reflection of a bygone age, but setting a play in a time before mobile phones helps to build up the tension. I couldn’t imagine a modern day reboot having the same charm.

The Mousetrap is an entertaining frolic. Seeing it for a second time I can say that the clues are there…I missed them all the first time around!

Photos: Johann Persson 

Review: Stephen Oliver

Tickets for The Mousetrap are available in person at the Box Office on High Street or online from ATG Tickets http://bit.ly/MousetrapSund* #Ad